Confession of an Obsession

This should get a lot of reads - a confession?!

I like giving feedback to companies about their products - both negative and positive. I also like to save money. When I go to BJ's with my stack of coupons, I am so proud to present them to the unhappy sales clerk who often checks that I did buy the items. I enjoy finding out which companies give the best customer service and where I'd like to spend my (our) money. When I was in college I worked for Nordstrom part-time when they did their annual inventory. As part of my training we had to watch a film about Nordstrom's founder, John W. Nordstrom. We learned that the company began as a shoe store in Seattle and good customer service was its trademark. John W. Nordstrom was quite impressive to me. He was an immigrant who came to the United States poor and made quite a fortune for himself. When I moved to Boston in 1996, my first job was with Franklin Quest(now Franklin Covey), another company who stood behind all of their products and would return almost anything. I walked the retail floor with the attitude that the customer was always right, even if I wasn't sure I wanted to return their binder.

This is why I expect to be right when I am the customer. I am always respectful and nice about it, but let me confess. I like to see how far a company will go to please me. During the month of January, here are a few things I've been up to:

* I found these really cool puzzles of the human body on Amazon.com for my kids. I ordered 2 and paid $19.99 for each of them. After Christmas I found them at Sears in the Land's End section for 40% off. I returned my original puzzles (free shipping) and they refunded me the original $39.99, a savings of about $11.00.


* For Father's Day last year we got Brian a wilderness recliner from LLBean, one of our favorite retailers. A few weeks ago it broke. Of course I didn't have a receipt for it, but I took it up to the Burlington store and they took it back. Because I purchased it in June, 07, they gave me my purchase price (even though it is now on sale). We got the check today for $51.25.


* I got a wooden forklift for Conor for his birthday last year. It is made by Plan Toys. I bought it through a website that I really like. The owner is very kind and personable and has helped me with quite a few of my toy purchases. This past week it broke. I thought this was a long shot, but I wanted to see what they would do for me. A nice wood toy should last more than 4 months! I called the online store and he gave me all the information from Plan Toys. When I called them in CA, a young kid took my information and said he'd send me a replacement!


* We have used Pampers Cruisers diapers with Megan. Huggies seemed to be the favorite brand for Conor, but when I tried Huggies with Megan she kept leaking at night. I decided to send an email to Pampers to compliment them on their superior product and share my experience. They replied to my email that they would share the info. with their team. A few days ago I received 2 coupons for $2.00 off diapers and $1.00 off wipes.


* I was looking for a doll-sized cradle for Megan for her birthday. I found quite a few that seemed too pricey. Then I got on FAO Schwartz's website and found a really cute one that was on sale. I bought it and it arrived a week or 2 ago. Then over the MLK holiday I got an email from FAO asking for feedback on my order. When I clicked on it, it showed that the cradle was 25% off. I sent an email to customer service to see if they'd do a price adjustment. I expected nothing, but they surprised me! Today I got an email with a confirmation that there would be a $11.25 credit on my card for the cradle.


* Brian and I have been eating Post Grape Nuts lately. I bought some at Johnnies Foodmaster and they were really stale. I called Post today and they are sending me a $4.00 coupon for any Post product.


I don't usually have this many customer service stories in one week! Am I cheap, frugal, anal, crazy, smart, or a combination of all of them?

This may well be one of those obsessions that is in my DNA so my kids are destined to be just like me!!? The shot below shows my kids kissing their Target Gift Cards they received from Auntie Janet and Uncle Mike for Christmas!!!!